I think I’ve had a unique experience as far as book covers go. Linn Arvidsson, the cover artist, is one of my beta readers. She reads absolutely everything I write and rereads it when I make big changes. I don’t think Vanity in Dust has a bigger fan in the world. So, I felt completely at ease when she contacted my publisher about doing the cover art. I’ve seen her work before and she knows the story.

After tossing around a bunch of ideas, she decided to do a photoshoot to make her own stockpile of pictures. Not just for this cover, but for the next couple covers. Luckily for us, my husband is not only the perfect model for Vaun Dray Fen, but also has an ever-growing collection of suits and vests. We did the photoshoot the same weekend Phong and I were in Umeå to get married.

The flowers on the table are actually ones I reused from my bouquet. The gold cup, I spray painted myself. And all of the treats are very real. We ate the ones that survived the shoot afterward. We brought enough treats and porcelain to redress the table three times and Phong managed to change his hair as well as his outfit each time too.

It was so much fun to be a part of the making of the cover, or at least there to watch it happen, and I am so happy with how it turned out. Linn is amazing!

We’re excited to announce that Cheryl Low’s debut fantasy novel, VANITY IN DUST, will be available in ebook and paperback August 8, 2017. VANITY IN DUST is the first in the Crowns & Ash series, set in a decadent dark fantasy world of hedonism, addiction, and political intrigue.

About the Book

In the Realm there are whispers. Whispers that the city used to be a different place. That before the Queen ruled there was a sky beyond the clouds and a world beyond their streets.Vaun Dray Fen never knew that world. Born a prince without a purpose in a Realm ruled by lavish indulgence, unrelenting greed, and vicious hierarchy, he never knew a time before the Queen’s dust drugged the city. Everything is poisoned to distract and dull the senses, even the tea and pastries. And yet, after more than a century, his own magic is beginning to wake. The beautiful veneer of the Realm is cracking. Those who would defy the Queen turn their eyes to Vaun, and the dust saturating the Realm.From the carnivorous pixies in the shadows to the wolves in the streets, Vaun thought he knew all the dangers of his city. But when whispers of treason bring down the fury of the Queen, he’ll have to race to save the lives and souls of those he loves.

About the Author

Cheryl Low might be an Evil Queen, sipping tea and peeping on everyone from high up in her posh tower—a job she got only after being fired from her gig as Wicked Witch for eating half the gingerbread house.

…Or she might be a relatively mundane human with a love for all things sugary and soap opera slaps.Find out by following her on social media @cherylwlow or check her webpage, cheryllow.com. The answer might surprise you! But it probably won’t.

We’ll be revealing the cover for VANITY IN DUST on May 10th. If you have a book-related blog, join our cover reveal team so you can see it before anyone else, and also have the chance to receive an advance review copy.

This treasure is in Gamlastan (Old town) in Stockholm and if you’re ever in the area you should definitely visit!

What looks like a tiny shop is actually huge. Just keep going. The first floor of books and fandom swag goes up stairs to a platform of dvds and shirts and then up another set of stairs to a floor of boardgames. The first time I was here I didn’t even realize it was so big, I was so overwhelmed by the first section.

In fact, the first time I was here I was so overwhelmed by all of the cute stuff and books that I didn’t buy anything! Nothing! I regretted it so!

Phong found Thor’s hammer amidst the fanswag! Turns out he’s not worthy of ruling Asgard.

I really wish we had one of these in Umeå. This is, hands-down, my favorite shop in Stockholm. Visit it! You’ll love it!

I should be working on one of my stand alone novel projects but, of course, all I want to do is work on the series I have out with publishers right now. Even when it’s not in front of me, it’s hard to put it out of mind. Of all the stages of looking for a home for a novel, I think the waiting has been the hardest because there’s simply nothing else I can do for the project in the meantime. I’m waiting to hear back from beta readers for the second and third books of the series and working on any more books for this series feels silly until I find a home for the first one.

So, as far as an update on the projects:

Vanity in Dust is sitting on the desks of publishers and I am breathlessly waiting to hear back.

Books 2 & 3 are with readers and I am looking forward to getting more feedback on them.

The Immortal Dead is being queried to horror publishers. Fingers crossed there too.

And the new projectis outlined and ready to be written.

Cheryl is distracted by other people’s books and soon going to Umeå for a couple of weeks to eat far too much cake and drown in lattes. Pictures to come. Not likely to be an overly productive month but definitely going to be a fun one.

When we were visiting family in Umeå for Christmas Linn showed me around the new library and I’m more than a little jealous.

It’s a whole new building by the river in the center of town and it has an entrance in this courtyard where a cafe, restaurant, and delicacy food store share a space with a high glass ceiling, giving it an outdoor feeling without actually being outdoors. What I thought was really neat about this is that you could, literally, wander into this library. It also had an escalator that goes straight up to the second floor where the kids section is, which I thought was pretty well thought out since I’ve seen more than a few toddlers enamored with escalators.

The walls are all these great windows and there’s even an outdoor patio area on the second floor that had a great view of the river and I imagine might be a great spot in the summer.

Book returns are entirely automatic, as they have been for a while, but what’s neat is that you get to watch them go down the conveyor belt and, depending on what floor they belong on, onto the elevators.

And the kids area has a whole room of enlarged pages from a Mumin book where you can put your face in the holes! It was not easy to get a picture of this without a bunch of kids in it.

Linn also showed me where they put all of the old books in these great glass cases in these electronic shelves that slide sideways to open up and save space.

Not only are there the usual private study rooms, but there’s a movie theater! And a few art galleries tucked between the book sections, study areas, and computers. This whole place seemed really well planned and I wish I could spend chunks of my every day there!

And there was a whole section for craft books and diy books with a few large tables and bowls of yarn! I admit that I was skeptical when they said they were going to build a new building and move the library, but I love it! One day, when we move back to Umeå, I might live in this place.